Why is it taking so long to demolish the crumbling old Howard Johnson's motel off Carrier Circle?

What is the hold-up?

The town of DeWitt has been working to get the eyesore torn down for at least five years. Community members and people who drive by regularly ask why the dilapidated building is still there? For years, there has been talk of tearing it down and replacing it with a new hotel.

There has been progress toward developing the site, DeWitt Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko said recently, but the final piece needed to get the job done is still hanging: road access to the property.

"We've been pushing and pushing,'' he said. "There is progress in the right direction; it's just not all there yet."

The owner, Hampshire Hospitality LLC of Erie, Pa., wants to subdivide the parcel and build two hotels on the site, including a Home2 Suites by Hilton. The two hotels would be built in phases, town officials said.

In order to move forward with the project, the property owner needs to secure access from Thompson Road to the property at 6527 Thompson Road.

To get to the new hotel, a road must be built through the McDonald's parking lot leading to the property. Part of that road would be built on a parcel owned by Carrier Corp, and the town has an agreement with Carrier to use that land for the road.

But the road also has to go through the back of McDonald's to get to the property. It would start at the traffic light at the entrance to the former Carrier's employee parking lot, and then head west and then north through the back of McDonald's parking lot.

"We have an agreement with Carrier right now for a road to nowhere,'' Michalenko said.

A revamped traffic pattern at Carrier Circle cut off direct access to the site years ago, making access to the site - and development - difficult.

McDonald's and the Howard Johnson's owners have been negotiating terms of an agreement for some time, and still haven't finalized the deal, Michalenko said.

"McDonald's will lose some parking spaces, so part of the problem is they want some on the hotel's land,'' he said.

The two are negotiating partly over who pays for what, Michalenko said.

There is a sign of progress. McDonald's recently applied to the DeWitt planning board for permission to change its drive-thru location and so issues remain over who is responsible for what, Michalenko said.

"Because McDonald's would give a back portion of their lot for the road, their property is condensed and so their footprint there is changing,'' Michalenko said.

Once the two property owners reach a final agreement, the last piece will be place.

The property is valued at $479,400, according to Onondaga County property tax records.